Critical illness cover

TheDizzle

Hi,

My girlfriend and I are taking out a mortgage with Nationwide and want to have life assurance with critical illness cover.

We have been given a quote from Nationwide (through Legal & General) for £55/month. I got a quote via Cavendish online for, as far as I can see, equivalent cover from Legal & General for less than £40/month. Is the cover from Legal & General the same in both instances i.e. can we get the same cover for less money if we don't go though Nationwide?

The bloke at Nationwide was convinced that the cover (critical illness) must a slimmed down version of what they offer but to me it looks to be exactly the same.

I'm reluctant to pay more than I have to and I know that Nationwide are going to be biased towards their own products but I don't want to end up with inferior cover.

Any help, opinion or experience of a similar situation would be gratefully received .

Thanks.

kingstreet

Probably the same cover. Buying via a bank or building society sees the cost increase by upto 40% to cover their increased commission as a tied agent.

See the DEFAQTO ratings for CI;-

http://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/critical-illness-cover

Legal & General Multi Protection - 5*

Nationwide Multi Protection - 5*.

More than likely the same product to get the 5* rating, but I don't know for definite. You would need to study the terms and conditions to compare properly.

I prefer Friends Life, myself. A bit more expensive, but a better quality product IMHO.

Shame on a Nationwide employee suggesting the (probably) same contract is worse quality, with no justification for that claim and no experience, as he is a tied agent. He has no right to comment on a competitor product!

You may be better off considering income protection, as that pays out if unable to work and is not dependent on you getting one of the listed illnesses.

magpiecottage

kingstreet wrote: »

You may be better off considering income protection, as that pays out if unable to work and is not dependent on you getting one of the listed illnesses.

I agree entirely. It is not a "sexy" contract because it will not pay off your mortgage in one lump but it will provide you with an income to keep up the repayments regardless of what the illness preventing you working is.

With critical illness alone, if you cannot work through an illness that is not covered you're stuffed!

TheDizzle

Thanks for the advice. I get income protection through work and my girlfriend will be taking it out separately.

I'll look through all the terms and conditions of the Legal & General cover via Cavendish to make sure it's the same. I'm pretty sure it will be. I'll also check out Friends Life for comparison.